January 8 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The Old Testament prophecies speak of the coming kingdom as a land flowing with milk and honey. Some say that we must take these words literally, while others maintain that we must understand them figuratively. When the Old Testament says that the desert shall be full of roses, some believe that we are really waiting for flower gardens, but others say that it means happiness and spiritual joy.

Jesus is God's appointed King in the kingdom that is and is coming. When he did his mighty works on earth, he showed what he meant by the kingdom he preached.

A helpless man was brought to Jesus. The Lord said: "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." And then, to prove that he had the power to forgive sins, he made the lame man leap.

In the kingdom, all misery must disappear. Christ came to renew the whole world. He has the power to do so, for he has the power to forgive sins. Our reform movements and renewal projects can do no more than patch up some battered places on the face of the earth. We may (must!) clear up some slums and we may (must!) defeat certain diseases. Sometimes we can even repair a broken home. But we cannot heal a broken heart.

Christ attacks our problems at their root. The root of all the problems, the cause of every curse, is the evil in the human heart. He has given us a new heart and new hope. But he does not stop there. He finishes by giving us a new heaven and a new earth. If our sins are forgiven today, tomorrow we will see the lame man leap. And the desert will be full of flowers.

Reflections

Reflect on the scope of God's "renewal projects," beginning with yourself and ending with the new creation. Bow in silence before our awesome God.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.